Plumbing Leak

[raypiet]

I am in Fredericksburg, Va. The temp dropped to 2 degrees, when the temp returned to normal. I found a water leak. I have a Big Country Fifth Wheel.
Took off the panel in my storage, to take a look.
Very small drip. I think is coming from my toilet water line. I am trying to find a picture or drawing of the water line and the drain connection. Any ideas where to go.

Ray

pietramale@aol.com

 

[jimtoo]

HI raypiet,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

I'm sure you will get some help soon from our other members.

Be sure and join our Heartland Owners Club. Join us at a rally when you can and meet lots of the great folks here and make friends for a lifetime.

Enjoy the forum and your new unit.
Jim M

 

[farside291]

What model Big Country do you have. I froze mine two weeks ago and am happy to say the Pex lines are pretty tough against freeze. But everything else, not so much. We froze the shower fixture, toilet water valve and water pump backflow preventer. Crazy thing is, each one leaked separately. In other words, it took a few days for the leaks to occur with the toilet showing first with water spaying everywhere. Then the shower fixture flooding the bedroom and storage area. Then the backflow preventer, that one put about 1/2 inch of water in the storage area while the wife and I were shopping. Came back to water flowing out the bottom of the RV. All easy fixes just made a big mess. Never again, winterize, winterize, winterize. With temps below 20,we kept fireplace off and the furnace running at 76 to keep the belly from freezing. Needless to say, I a very intimate with the plumbing on my Big Country. Nothing like chasing leaks to get to know your RV.

 

[danemayer]

Hi Ray,

Usually with the rear wall of the pass through storage removed you can see most of the plumbing lines.

As already mentioned, PEX tubing will survive a freeze. But the plastic fittings and crimp rings used are not as durable. In a hard freeze, a crimp ring could loosen. A fitting could crack. Sometimes you can find slow leaks by wrapping toilet paper around the suspect tubing.

If the interior temp got down to 2 (F) and you weren't winterized, you need to check the strainer bowl on the pump for cracks and check out pump operation. You also could have other points of damage including faucets.

Our owner-written Water Systems Guide has a generic drawing that might be of some help. If you need a model specific diagram, call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready.

And if you're using the RV in sub-freezing weather, the Water Systems Winter Usage Guide will be a help.